The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday named 11 people including former air force chief S. P. Tyagi and his three cousins in its preliminary enquiry (PE) into the AgustaWestland deal for 12 VVIP helicopter.

The CBI team has registered the PE on the basis of some important documents obtained from the Italian probe agencies into the alleged payment of kickbacks by AgustaWestland in India to bag the Ra.3,600-crore deal, and a full-fledged case would be registered once the it finds sufficient evidence.

The two-member CBI team, had gone to Italy and returned back yesterday from Milan with the documents, most of them submitted by Italian prosecutors in court.

The CBI is also expected to get papers related to an internal probe carried out by the company.

Since the Italian authorities had earlier refused to share certified copies of the investigation report, the CBI team had explored the possibility of accessing the documents through a formal arrangement under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

The defence ministry had earlier threatened to cancel the deal and sought a CBI probe after the CEO of AgustaWestland's parent company, Finmeccanica, was arrested in Italy for paying bribes. (ANI)